Happy New Year, dear readers!

I took a break from researching, writing and screens over the holidays. Well, not entirely – I watched Season 3 of The White Lotus : ) I know that it’s been out a while but I saved it for Christmas as its one of my all-time favorite shows.

Then I had a phone call with a fellow blogger who, like many of us, is struggling to deal with life in America right now, especially with 2026 off to such a rocky start. So this post is kind of a continuation of that conversation – how to get through this year, based on a nudge from The White Lotus.

Season 3 of the White Lotus, set in Thailand, is full of themes related to Buddhism. Without giving too much away, several of the main stories were about cycles of suffering perpetuated by our attachments and/or deviations from an ethical code.

Probably the only character who is unscathed by the sequence of events is Frank (Sam Rockwell) – an American who has given up his pleasure-driven life to become a monk. He deviated from his path (one night in Bangkok) during a reunion with his old buddy Rick (Walton Goggins) but then returned to it. Sorry – no more spoilers!

After the final episode, I looked up the books that were mentioned in the show (especially those recommended by Rick’s girlfriend, Chelsea) and they helped form my strategy for 2026.

The only author to crop up twice in this season of The White Lotus is Pema Chödrön (born in New York as Deirdre Blomfield-Brown), a Buddhist nun and the primary teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia until her retirement in 2020. So that’s who I started with. I’m also planning to read Belinda’s book, Surrounded by Narcissists, which may also prove helpful in coping with modern-day America – a topic for another post!

How to cope with life in America, 2026 edition

Whatever your position in the current American situation, here’s my White-Lotus-inspired recommendation: try reading something from the spiritual or self-development realms. Get back to exploring the path towards self-awareness – the same path that Chelsea nudged Saxon onto.

Pema Chödrön is a good choice as she’s relatable, having dealt with life in America and abroad, chronic illness, and two divorces. She also tends to frame her thoughts for people of all belief systems. A related option is to try meditation, or any practice that helps you to disconnect from the noise and connect with your real self.

Most of the suffering that occurred in season 3 of the White Lotus could have been avoided with a moment of mindfulness or compassion. You could say the same for some of the events that played out last week in America.

Make a commitment to pausing throughout the day, and do that whenever you can. Allow time for your perception to shift. Allow time to experience the natural energy of life as it is manifesting right now. This can bring dramatic changes in your personal life, and if you are worried about the state of the world, this is a way that you can use every moment to help shift the global climate of aggression towards peace. – Taking the Leap by Pema Chödrön (2009).

Suffering and self-development

Pema Chödrön discusses the important role that pain can play in personal growth. And of course she spends a lot of time exploring the other side of that: how personal growth helps us cope with pain and suffering. Remembering a mentor’s take on students of Buddhism in North America, she writes:

The Buddhist teachings were just a pastime, something to dabble in or use for relaxation, but when their lives fell apart, the teachings and practices became as essential as food or medicine. – Taking the Leap by Pema Chödrön (2009).

We need some of that now, but how do we make time for it?

How much news to watch or read?

This question came up a few times in 2025: what’s a healthy amount of time to spend following news coverage?  I think a reasonable answer is not zero and not all of your spare time – somewhere in between. There, that narrows it down 😉

But seriously, it depends on the person, of course. More than one friend is spending almost zero time following the news and there have been weeks when I’m in the same boat. Most of the time, I take a middle path of broadly keeping up with developments while doing my best to avoid being triggered.

Instead of immersion in news, I spend a lot of my time reading science papers related to ethical consumption. Our actions in this world (karma) matter a lot so it’s important that they’re conscious – and well-informed! A fair amount of suffering in the world can be avoided when we make more conscious decisions as consumers.

Also bear in mind that supporting ethical companies is a critical form of resistance.

Thank you for taking the time to read the Green Stars Project (and Ethical Bargains!).